maplesyrup

At least one bit of good news today - Canadian dolla is at US$0.825 the highest it has been in 12 years. I forecast it will be worth 85 cents US by Xmas.

This election smells. Polls are still open while results in another part of the announced publically on TV. People coming out the voting booths said Democratic but Republicans will election. How many ballot boxes were stuffed in Ohio? International inspectors say something is rotten in the state of Denmark, er USA!

Cry me a river!

Article I remember Raymond Heard from a long time ago when I lived in Quebec, and he used to write a column in the Montreal Star. He was one of, if not my favourite, columnist! Heard raises a very important issue, that Canadians had better start paying attention to, as PM Martin doesn't have the kahones to stand up for Canada.

Well if Kerry wins, hopefully he wil lbe appointing a few justices that can relate to ordinary people.

But I tend to doubt you will be.... Slavik44....is this more of your brilliant analysis? Michael....do you think this is being engineered to discredit our public institutions? I do . 40 years ago public was a good word - now if you listen to CanWest Global, Gordon Gibson, and Alberta, it is a dirty word.

KERRY FINDS COMFORT IN FIRST BATCH OF EXIT POLLS; Let's hope these initial results carry through, and rid us of tis US nightmare we have experiencing since Clinton left office.

Greg...yopu are acting too much like the thought police. Chill man! You are abusing your powers and you haven't a clue what the word troll means. Ban me if you wish, but just bear in mind you will be acting like a fascist!

British Columbia is one of the most beautiful places in the world, rich in natural resources and hard-working people looking to realize the promise of the 21st century. But we can never achieve our full potential if Gordon Campbell continues to make it harder for ordinary people to get the economic opportunities and the education, health care and services they need. In a nutshell this is why the Liberals got trounced last Thursday.

Whew! I'm out of Greg's right wing purgatory.

Guess which province introduced provincial sales taxes? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.

We Paid Record Sales Taxes This Year They must think they are cute, these governments with their tax strategists, thier accountants and lawyers. Fortunately people are waking off to this massive rip-off. I hope the voters in Surrey Panorama Ridge are listening now and that everyone in the province is listening on May 17, 2005, for the next general election.

Why worship the surplus god? How refreshing to read something in our daily press that is not the same old, same old, tired worn out half-baked ideas that is the usual fare.

Maybe bishop Henry needs to focus on doing his job, like properly supervising the sick priests that have been sexually abusing little boys.

Bulletin: Now hear this: Front page of today's Vancouver Sun: EXPERT SAYS Citizen's Assembly voting proposal is, are you ready for it caesar: "VOTER FRIENDLY"

Maple Syrup, is that our major environmental concern right now? Asteroids?well I can guarantee you that whatever it is you won't be reading about it on the front page of your beloved daily newspapers Of course, this is the main problem in the world now. Rich and poor.Yes actually it is - try being poor and you might clue in to the problem. I feel your frustration, MS. I'm with you, man. You go right on believing, whatever works for you, just don't ask me to take the same trip, my road is less travelled. ----- The NDP needs to RE-BRAND. Naomi Klein is available for consulting (and style issues). Michael Moore will shoot the video. Not bad suggestions, the NDP could do a lot worse. Issue Statement: Our clientele has shifted and we need to get ahead. Counter-culture, anti-establishment, fronde, take-pride-in-being-different-for no-reason-at-all, underdogs now vote Green, not NDP. Issue Problematic: How to recapture our clientele? Solution: GREEN LITE. Changes in our attitude about environmental issues won't come from either the rich or the poor, but from the middle, where most meaningful change has always come from.

Michael.......how many of our last, let's say dozen majority federal governments, have 50% or more of the popular vote. Did any of them? The popular vote is the only real indicator of a true democracy. All this other stuff seats, gerrymandering, etc. just means the powerful rig the voting system to keep control. Why should any one person's vote be worth more than someone else's? That is not democracy. That's a scam in the name of democracy!

caesar........a guaranteed annual income, I am not saying a big income, would solve a lot of these problems. But the rich are mean so they will fight tooth and nail to prevent a progressive idea like that. The gap between the rich and the poor is too large. Look at Air Canada and what do they pay that dickhead Robert Milton for basically bankrupting the company. The whole world thirves on bullshit.

Slavik44......please share with us what seats any Canadian Green party has won. I'm curious.

What kind of mass extinctions are you referring to? The dinasaurs I thought were eliminated by an astroid impacting on the planet earth. I agree with you about the Greens that they are all over the map but our right wing media is pulling out all the stops to ensure they take votes from the progressive parties. Basically Adianne Carr, and whatever his name is, who is leader federally, are right wing, but some of the Green supporters are not. They have no idea about what is going on in the politics at the top echelons of their party. The NDP both federally and provincially have met and tried to work with the Greens, however the Green party leaders couldn't give a tinker's damm about the lesss privileged in society, and the Greens are being led by Attila the Hun types who are seeking power for power's sake. I find it quite ironic that people who profess to give a shit about environmental issues will consciously split the vote and allow the the most anti-environmental interests back into power. Until we learn that we are an interdependent web we will continue to be doomed.

Michael.......the problems we have in our Canadian society often relate to the fact that over 50% of the population have no representation in our government. No wonder so many people give up on the electoral process. What is happening is that the elections and governments have become the domain of the elites. We have to do a lot of things in life we don't particularly want to do, but I can guarantee you that if we were fined for not voting a lot more people would take part in, and get involved in, the electoral process. We need some new ideas here that will give hope to Canadians, not the same old, same old boring brain-dead ideas that are perpetuated by the elites, who main mission in life to make sure they remain the elite.

Michael.....I agree. The sooner we can find ways to reduce the impact of political parties the healthier a society we will have. I think electing a minority government has been a good first step. Now it's time to look at the voting process. One thing for sure, we need to have punitive measures such as fines for people who do not vote.

Isn't that like Air Canada changing the colours of its airplanes? In fact, to carry the analogy further, if the NDP adopts Green policies, isn't that kind of like Air Canada setting up Tango?I mean, if people don't like your product, the obvious solution is to package it in a different bottle and claim it's new and improved. The Left, once again, confuses symbol and reality. Wrong. The NDP represents the average working person, students and pensioners in Canada, and the less privileged in our society. But I believe in democracy including democracy for political parties. Everyone' vote should carry equal weight, no special privileges for anyone or any special group. Half the people in the heirarchy of the labour movement don't support the NDP anyways. David Haggard's despicible anctics in the last federal election is an excellent example of what i am talking about.

The New Democrats have a problem and it is the Green Party. Environmental groups actually state that NDP policies are better for our environment than the Green Party, yet some environmentalists still support the Green Party. I believe that the major factor here that is enabling the Green Party to gain this environmental support is because of labour's special voting rights in the NDP party. The NDP needs to adopt two strategies: 1 Remove labour special privileges within the party 2 Change the NDP lawn sign colours to Green, to reflect the NDP's most progressive policies, of all the political parties, on environmental issues. Failure to adapt to the new political realities in Canada will prevent the NDP from ever forming the government in Ottawa, however with Jack Layton as NDP Leader and progressive policies, the NDP has a fighting chance.

Canadian dollar is flying over US$.82 this morning. Let's have a contest. Let's forecast when will we see parity with Yankee Dolla.